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Marine biologists have discovered several species of marine invertebrates living in a threatened reef in Papua New Guinea. Some of the newly found creatures include tiny animals that look like shrimp and live in sponges, and a pink nudibranch, a snail that doesn't have a shell.

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A species of nautilus has been seen for the first time in about three decades, swimming deep in the ocean off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Allonautilus scrobiculatus was captured on film by University of Washington biologist Peter Ward, who first described the creature in 1984 with colleague Bruce Saunders. This nautilus is thought to live in just a few locations within a certain depth range, researchers say.

Research suggests that the growth of women's feet during pregnancy could be permanent. The results may suggest a possible cause for the increased risk of arthritis in the lower extremities in women as compared with men.

Two physicists have created a knotted vortex in water, a feat that may open the door for scientists to study a wide range of phenomena, such as ionized gases and superconductive materials. The results of the study shed light on "an ideal model system for allowing us to study the precise way in which knots untie themselves in a real physical field," said William Irvine, a University of Chicago physicist.

Patients with multisystem proteinopathy suffer from a syndrome that causes some proteins to behave like harmful prions, rather than contributing to the body's proper function, according to a study. Results of a recent study on these proteins indicate that their behavior of clumping together may be relevant to studies of other disorders of the brain and body. "They make a compelling case for the involvement of these mutant proteins in disease," Lary Walker of Emory University said about the researchers.

Excavations are shedding light on what might have been a significant factor in the demise of the Neanderthal: the inability to hunt small game. The remains of large animals are prevalent in Neanderthal cave excavations, but the bones of smaller animals such as rabbits were prevalent among early humans.